John Rhys

In memory of the Rt Hon: Sir John Rhys D:Litt: P:C: F:B:A: Principal of Jesus College and Professor of Celtic in this University. Born June 21, 1840 died December 17, 1915 and of Elsbeth [sic] his wife born May 26, 1841 died April 29, 1911. (Holywell Cemetery, Oxford.)

In 1874 Rhys delivered a series of lectures in Aberystwyth, later published as Lectures on Welsh Philology, which served to establish his reputation as a leading scholar of the Celtic language. This reputation saw him appointed as the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University in 1877. He was also made a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. Rhys was elected bursar of the college in 1885, a position he held until 1895, when he succeeded Dr Hugo Harper as principal.[3]

Rhys also maintained his interest in improving schools. In 1881 he was appointed to Lord Aberdare's departmental committee on Welsh education, whilst in 1889 he served as secretary to a commission established by Sir John Bridge. The commission was charged with examining titheagitation in Wales. In 1889 Rhys was appointed secretary to the royal commission on Sunday closing in Wales. He also served on two other royal commissions, in 1893 and in 1901, the former concerning Welsh land tenure and the latter Irishuniversity education.

Rhys gained his knighthood in 1907, and in 1911 was appointed to the Privy Council. Rhys was one of the founding Fellows of The British Academy when it was given its Royal Charter in 1902, and after his death the Academy established an annual lecture in his name, the Sir John Rhys Memorial Lecture. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography declares him to be "foremost among the scholars of his time" in his published fields, noting that "his pioneering studies provided a firm foundation for future Celtic scholarship and research for many decades."[3]